Game of Thrones: Moonlight's Mahershala Ali was rejected by casting director Nina Gold

Ahead of the much awaited season premiere of the seventh season of Game of Thrones, Nina Gold, the casting director of the wildly popular show has revealed that she let Oscar winning star of the critically acclaimed movie Moonlight, slip through her fingers at the season two auditions.

Mahershala Ali-Nonso Anozie. Images from Twitter.

Mahershala Ali had auditioned for the role of the Qarthian merchant Xaro Xhoan Daxos and was beaten to the punch by actor Nonso Anozie who portrayed the role in season two. Even though Gold admitted that Anozie was "bloody great" in the role of Daxos, she also expressed her disbelief at the fact that she turned Ali down.

“Wow, how could I have ever turned down Mahershala Ali?”, said Gold according to a Vanity Fairreport. The three-time Emmy winning casting director (two of those Emmy's were for Game of Thrones) has been known to be a tough nut to crack, having turned down several other talented actors for other roles.

Ali however, felt that the fault was his own. “I had gone in for this casting director before, and I felt like I had two other wonky auditions with her,” Ali had said in a previous interview with Jimmy Kimmel back in January. The actor also blames the 'backless high stool' that he sat on to give the audition, as he felt it hampered his performance.

Game of Thrones is a fantastical action packed drama. This television series is based on the novels of George RR Martin, and managed to take the world captive in its very first season.